FEATURE THE BREAD FEEDER

48 matchfi shing January ’09

Commercial-Fishery Tips

Rob Wootton’s

No6 – The Bread Feeder.It’s amazing that in these days of wonder baits and fancy additives, one bait guaranteed to fool the fi sh on a crystal-clear winter commercial is… bread.

LocationAt this time of year carp tend to shoal up in the middle of lakes, so my starting approach is to cast as far away from my fi shing position as possible. I like to be able to cast towards an island and in the depths of winter would look to target the base of the shelf rather than on top of it. I do this for two reasons; fi rstly the slightly deeper water gives the fi sh confi dence to feed and secondly, leaving a spot tight to the island free gives the fi sh somewhere quiet to back off to without them moving out of your swim.

This method works just as well when cast into open water on large lakes. On these occasions I fi nd it best to always outcast your rivals so before the start I’ll only have a loose feel around with a bomb without clipping up unless I can fi nd a feature on the bottom. When the match starts I’ll simply wait for my neighbours to make their fi rst casts and go a few yards further.

Aim for the base of

a shelf rather than

the top of it.

P48-49_MF_01_r wooton.indd 1 3/12/08 12:22:18

Sponsored by Middy Tackle

January ’09 matchfi shing 49

Just because you’re using a feeder doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t think carefully about your feeding pattern. The best feeder anglers are always changing something – altering the release rate of the feeder or changing the amount of feed entering the swim.

On a typical day I fi nd it best to start with a small Drennan wire cage feeder for at least

the fi rst few casts. I’ll use a smaller feeder, down to a micro feeder, if the fi shing is harder than expected or if I want to increase the frequency of my casting without increasing the amount of bait entering the water.

It’s an important point to note that the hook bait I’m using swells up to three or four times its size once in the lake, so it offers plenty of attraction in itself. The feed is either plain white liquidised bread or, more often, Dynamite Baits white crumb. I tend to use the white crumb when fi shing the feeder as its doughy nature makes it sink better, concentrating the fi sh nearer to the hook bait. If want to add a bit of activity to the mix I simply add some dry crumb to the feeder.

TackleFor all of my long-range work (over 30 yards) I now use Middy’s new 3G Medium Feeder rod. But for today’s session I only have a 25-yard cast to the island so I’ve opted for the 3G Light Feeder with the softest tip fi tted. Because it’s short it means I can cast short distances more accurately than with a longer, more cumbersome rod. The rod was originally designed with exactly this sort of peg in mind so will be perfect for today.

Hook BaitMy starting hook bait is always three or four 6mm discs of fresh white bread mounted on a hair; how hard you compress the discs will determine how long they’ll sit upright off the bottom. Usually I’ll try and make it so that the hook bait sits off the bottom for a minute or so before taking on enough water to sink slowly to the lake bed. If I feel the fi sh are showing a preference for the popped-up bait rather than one on the bottom I’ll substitute a small piece of white foam for one of the bread discs, to create a bait that will stay permanently popped up.

Feeding

Punc

hing

Hoo

k Ba

its

Punch through three slices of fresh white bread at a time…01 … to give three compressed hook baits.02

Use a fi ne baiting needle to mount the bread pellets on an extra-long hair.03 Substitute a foam disc for one of the

bread pieces to create a permanently popped-up bait.

04

Rob’s simple but effective set-up.

The bread swells up once in water so a long hair is essential.

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… team up well with Middy’s new 3G Medium Feeder rod.

Rob’s line and hook choices…

You can’t get feed bait that’s much easier to prepare than this.

For main line I’m using 8lb Technium and as a hooklength I’ve got 12 inches of 0.18mm Middy Lo-Viz tied knotless-knot style to a size 16 KM-1

hook. The feeder is free-running up the main line and is stopped by a link cut from a

link swivel.

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